ADUN SPEAKS | I am amused by the ignorance or the lack of understanding on the part of the Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin when arguing for automation in the oil palm industry.
She recently said that automation in the use of drones for surveillance and spraying weed killers might make the oil palm industry not just reduce foreign labour but increase its attractiveness to local labour.
In this way, the country, in the long run, might shake off its dependence on foreign labour.
Despite the high demand for foreign labour, the flow has been interrupted because of the new policies of the host countries with stricter conditions imposed on labour migration.
An interesting question is: can the plantation industry be automated to the extent it will shake off its dependence on a cheap and malleable labour force?
In bringing technological changes, the reference is not so much increasing surveillance or using drones for spraying weed killers as these are external to the production process.
Automation in these areas will have no effect on revolutionising the production process.
In talking about technological changes to the plantation industry, the reference should be made to the production process.
In other words, diversifying downstream activities of the oil palm industry through a process of industrialisation.
Rather than simply exporting crude palm oil either from the fruit or the kernel, the focus should be on coming out with differentiated products from the oil extracted.
It is about turning palm oil into finished products with the use of technology and with the added value of labour.
It is through the differentiation of the products through the production process with the application of technology it is possible to talk about technological innovation in the palm oil industry.
But unfortunately, like other ministers, Zuraida has no idea of what is meant by the technological innovation of the oil palm industry.
Rather her concerns are superficial and shallow in talking about the externalities of automation.
The use of drones in surveillance and spraying will not render the plantation industry as advanced and technologically inclined.
Value of labour in plantation industry
By definition, the plantation industry, whether in the production of palm oil or rubber or any other raw material products, is supposed to be labour-intensive in nature.
Labour-intensive industries, whether they are plantations or other forms of low-cost production activities, invariably depend on cheap labour or in other words, forced labour.
It is not that these low-cost producers have a liking for forced labour, but since plantation industries pay little or no attention to the value of labour other than their regimented use, the value of labour in the form of high-quality finished products might not be there.
Low labour cost producers, whether they are in plantations or manufacturing, pay little or no attention to the value of labour.
In fact, they do not require talented or skilled labour.
Forced labour is the invariable consequence of low-cost producers because very little value goes into the production of goods that are extracted from raw materials.
There is no capital deepening in the plantation production system as the bulk of the activity is focused on the extraction of oil or latex from the raw materials.
If only when there are differentiated downstream activities where raw materials are turned into quality products by recognition of labour talents, then it is possible to talk of technological innovation.
Technological innovation takes place in the plantation industries when labour is recognised for its contribution to the production process.
Externalities such as the use of drones and others have no place in the technological innovation process.
It is complete nonsense to talk about external innovations bringing about better labour conditions.
Only when the production process is technologically innovated with better quality finished products with the application of technology and the value of labour then it is possible to talk about the industrialisation of the production process.
However, if this happens, then plantations would not be termed as such but would become a component of the manufacturing industry.
Whether this will happen or not remains to be seen as it will be a long historical process. - Mkini
P RAMASAMY is Perai assemblyperson and Penang deputy chief minister II.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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